demur

present singular third person demurs · participle present demurring · participle past demurred · past demurred · first person past singular demurred · archaic present second person singular demurrest · past second person singular demurred · archaic past second person singular demurredst · present singular third person demurs · archaic present singular third person demurreth · past singular third person demurred · past plural demurred · past subjunctive demurred · participle present demurring · participle past demurred

1. intransitiveChiefly followed by to, and sometimes by at or on: to object or be reluctant; to balk, to take exception.

   I demur to that statement.

   5 more examples

   The personnel demurred at the management’s new scheme.

   The Sultan […] deſiring him novv to ratifie them, and in demonſtration thereof to give his hand to the Kings Embaſſadours. The Caliph demurred hereat, as counting ſuch a geſture a diminution to his State; […]

   1639, Thomas Fuller, “Sanar Imploreth the Aid of King Almerick; a Solemn Agreement Made betwixt Them, and Ratified by the Magnificent Caliph”, in The Historie of the Holy Warre, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Thomas Buck, one of the printers to the Universitie of Cambridge [and sold by John Williams, London], →OCLC, book II, page 92

   My proceſs vvas alvvays very ſimple—in their younger days, 'tvvas 'Jack, do this;'—if he demur'd—I knock'd him dovvn—and if he grumbled at that—I alvvays ſent him out of the room.

   1775 January 17 (first performance), [Richard Brinsley Sheridan], The Rivals, a Comedy. […], London: […] John Wilkie, […], published 1775, →OCLC, Act I, scene ii, page 14

   What! thou demurrest? I tell thee I'll be his surety, and thou hast my warrant.

   1876, Emelobie de Celtis [pseudonym; M. L. O’Byrne], “A Bold Enterprize—Hallinacor Retaken by Feich O’Byrne”, in The Pale and the Septs: Or, The Baron of Belgard and the Chiefs of Glenmalure. A Romance of the Sixteenth Century, volume II, Dublin: M[ichael] H[enry] Gill & Son, […], →OCLC, page 119

   Thou still demurrest? Read once more / The lines obnoxious to thy score, / And sure I am thou'lt find / There's not a passage in the book / Where, lesson'd thus, thou mayst not look, / Nor leave thy scrawls behind.

   1878, “Postscript. In Reply to Certain Lucubrations of a Blacklead Pencil.”, in Peak Poesies, […], Manchester: […] by [Bradbury, Agnew, & Co. for] J. E. Cornish, […], →OCLC, page 147

   Synonyms: oppose, scruple

2. intransitivelawTo submit a demurrer (“motion by a party to a legal action for the immediate or summary judgment of the court on the question of whether, assuming the truth of the matter alleged by the opposite party, it is sufficient in law to sustain the action or defence, and hence whether the party bringing the motion is required to answer or proceed further”).

   He that demurreth in Law confeſſeth all ſuch matters of fact as are well and ſufficiently pleaded.

   1628, Edw[ard] Coke, “Escuage”, in The First Part of the Institutes of the Lawes of England. […], London: […] [Adam Islip] for the Societe of Stationers, →OCLC, book 2, chapter 3, section 97, folio 72, recto

   1 more example

   The plaintiff demurred, that is to say, admitted Sir Edward [Hales]'s plea to be true in fact, but denied that it was a sufficient answer.

   1849, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter VI, in The History of England from the Accession of James II, volume II, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC, page 84

3. intransitiveobsoleteTo endure, to last.
4. intransitiveobsoleteTo linger, to tarry.

   The Eele is here, and in this hollow cave / You'll finde, if that our looks on it demurre, / A great wast in the bottome of his furre.

   1653, Francis Rabelais [i.e., François Rabelais], translated by [Thomas Urquhart, Peter Anthony Motteux], “The Antidoted Fanfreluches: Or, A Galimatia of Extravagant Conceits Found in an Ancient Monument”, in The Works of Francis Rabelais, Doctor in Physick: Containing Five Books of the Lives, Heroick Deeds, and Sayings of Gargantua, and His Sonne Pantagruel. […], London: […] [Thomas Ratcliffe and Edward Mottershead] for Richard Baddeley, […], →OCLC; republished in volume I, London: […] Navarre Society […], [1948], →OCLC, 1st book, page 13

5. intransitiveobsoleteTo remain, to stay.

   Synonyms: abide

6. intransitiveobsoleteTo suspend judgment or proceedings because of a difficulty or doubt; to put off the conclusion or determination of a matter; to delay, to hesitate, to pause.

   I aſſure you, Ma'am, you are the firſt lady vvho ever made me even demur upon this ſubject; […]

   1778, [Frances Burney], “Letter XIX. Evelina to the Rev. Mr. Villars.”, in Evelina, or, A Young Lady’s Entrance into the World, volume II, London: […] T[homas] Lowndes, […], →OCLC, page 177

   4 more examples

   [The Governor of Picardie and Chastilion of Newhaven said] there muſt be much vvaſt of time if the Engliſh ſhould lye at Guiſnes and the French at Ardes, and that the equality vvould be more, and the diſhonour to one of the ſides leſſe, if the entervievv ſhould be vpon the Frontires, then if one part ſhould be dravven into the territory of the other. Vpon this rubbe the Engliſh Embaſſadors thought fit to demurre, and ſo ſent into England to receiue directions from the Lords of the counſaile.

   a. 1628 (date written), John Hayward, The Life, and Raigne of King Edward the Sixt, London: […] [Eliot’s Court Press, and J. Lichfield at Oxford?] for Iohn Partridge, […], published 1630, →OCLC, page 106

   The doore of grace turnes upon ſmooth hinges vvide opening to ſend out, but ſoon ſhutting to recall the precious offers of mercy to a nation:[…]. This is all vve get by demurring in Gods ſervice.

   1642 (indicated as 1641), John Milton, “That Those Many Sects and Schismes by Some Suppos’d to be among Us, and that Rebellion in Ireland, ought Not to be a Hindrance, but as Hastning of Reformation”, in The Reason of Church-governement Urg’d against Prelaty […], London: […] E[dward] G[riffin] for Iohn Rothwell, […], →OCLC, 1st book, page 30

   VVell, the VVeſt-Saxon King vvas quickly overcome, and all his Complices either killed, or conquered, and yet King Edvvine demurred to embrace Chriſtianity.

   1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, book II, subsection 40 (His Condition Performed, and yet He Demurres), page 72

   [T]he Tyrant ſent the Bull for a Preſent to Delphi; and the Delphians demurring, vvhether they ſhould accept it or no, he makes tvvo Orations in Phalaris’s Name to perſuade them to receive it: […]

   1699, Richard Bentley, “A Dissertation upon the Epistles of Phalaris”, in A Dissertation upon the Epistles of Phalaris. With an Answer to the Objections of the Honourable Charles Boyle, Esquire, London: […] J[ohn] H[umphreys] for Henry Mortlock […], and John Hartley […], →OCLC, page 516

7. intransitiveobsoleterareTo have doubts; to be doubtful.
8. figurativelyintransitiveobsoleteFollowed by upon: to be captivated or fixated; to dwell on, to linger.
9. raretransitiveTo object or take exception to (something).

   I demur the inference from these facts that Homer must have lived at some far later period, when he could have seen such works. Even if he had never seen any representations of life, his imagination might have conceived them.

   1876, W[illiam] E[wart] Gladstone, “Homer and Hissarlik”, in Homeric Synchronism: An Enquiry into the Time and Place of Homer, London: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, part I, page 59

10. obsoletetransitiveTo cause delay to (someone or something); to put off.

    I ask'd the Lavvyer; He demands a Fee, / And then demurres me vvith a vaine delay: […]

    1635, Fra[ncis] Quarles, “Canto XI. Cant[icles] III. II.”, in Emblemes, London: […] G[eorge] M[iller] and sold at at Iohn Marriots shope […], →OCLC, book IV, stanza 4, page 226

    2 more examples

    [The Jews believe that God] ſitteth in iudgement, and out of the books taketh reckoning of eurie mans life, and pronounceth ſentence accordingly. […] [T]he third, of the meane ſort, vvhoſe iudgement is demurred vntill the day of Reconciliation, (the tenth of Tiſri,) that if in the meane time they ſeriouſly repent them ſo, that their good may exceed their euill, then are they entred into the Booke of life; if othervviſe, they are recorded in the Blacke Bill of Death.

    1613, Samuel Purchas, “[Asia.] The Iewish Passeouer, as They are Now Obserue It, and Other Their Feasts and Fasts.”, in Purchas His Pilgrimage. Or Relations of the World and the Religions Observed in All Ages and Places Discouered, from the Creation vnto this Present. […], London: […] William Stansby for Henrie Fetherstone, […], →OCLC, book II [Of the Hebrew Nation and Religion from the Beginning thereof to Our Time], page 174

    […] I ſvvear by yonder pole, / Nay by my fathers Rurall ſoul, / Henceforth to take a rougher courſe, / And, vvhat you vvould demur, to force.

    1682, T[homas] d[’Urfey], “Canto I”, in Butler’s Ghost: Or, Hudibras. The Fourth Part. […], London: […] Joseph Hindmarsh, […], →OCLC, page 69

11. obsoletetransitiveTo have doubts or hesitate about (something).

    1 more example

    VVhat may this mean? Language of Man pronounc't / By Tongue of Brute, and human ſenſe expreſt? / The firſt at leſt of theſe I thought deni'd / To Beaſts, vvhom God on thir Creation-Day / Created mute to all articulat ſound; / The latter I demurre, for in thir looks / Much reaſon, and in thir actions oft appeers.

    1667, John Milton, “Book VIII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC, signatures Gg2, recto – Gg2, verso, lines 553–559

plural demurs

1. An act of objecting or taking exception; a scruple; also, an exception taken or objection to something.

   All my demurrs but double his attacks; / At laſt he vvhiſpers, "Do; and vve go ſnacks."

   1735 January 13 (Gregorian calendar; indicated as 1734), [Alexander] Pope, An Epistle from Mr. Pope, to Dr. Arbuthnot, London: […] J[ohn] Wright for Lawton Gilliver […], →OCLC, page 4, lines 65–66

   3 more examples

   If publique Aſſemblies of Divines cannot agree upon a right vvay, private Conventicles of illeterate men, vvill ſoon finde a vvrong. Bivious demurres breed devious reſolutions. Paſſengers to heaven are in haſte, and vvill vvalk one vvay or other.

   1647, Theodore de la Guard [pseudonym; Nathaniel Ward], The Simple Cobler of Aggawam in America. […], London: […] J[ohn] D[ever] & R[obert] I[bbitson] for Stephen Bowtell, […], →OCLC, page 37

   Nicholas was not much disposed to sleep, being in truth too anxious, so after a little demur he accepted the offer, […]

   1838 March – 1839 October, Charles Dickens, “Nicholas, accompanied by Smike, sallies forth to seek his Fortune. He encounters Mr. Vincent Crummles; and who he was is herein made manifest.”, in The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1839, →OCLC, page 212

   Most geologists today would accept such evidence without demur, but it was still 'fringe' science when [Alexander] du Toit was publishing.

   2004, Richard Fortey, “Plates”, in Earth: An Intimate History, London: HarperCollinsPublishers, →ISBN, page 161

2. obsoleteAn act of continuing; a continuance.

   1 more example

   [G]ood People, living vvithin the Limits of true and lavvful Matrimony, ſhall not by Malice or ill VVill, be ſo long detained and interrupted from their Right, as in times paſt they have been: Neither unjuſt Matrymony ſhall have his unjuſt and inceſtuous demoure and continuance, as by delayes to Rome it is vvont to have.

   1533 (date written), John Strype, “The Princess Mary. The King’s Appeal against the Pope. The Supremacy. Books Writ against the Pope’s Usurpations.”, in Ecclesiastical Memorials; Relating Chiefly to Religion, and the Reformation of It: Shewing the Various Emergencies of the Church of England, under King Henry the Eighth. […], volume I, London: […] John Wyat, […], published 1721, →OCLC, page 148

3. obsoleteAn act of lingering or tarrying.

   [A]lbeit his Highneſs had cauſe, as the ſame vvrote, to marvel of your long demor, and lack of expedition of one or other of the things committed to your charge; yet did his Highneſs right vvell perſuade unto himſelf the default not to be in you, but in ſome other cauſe, […]

   1679, Gilbert Burnet, “[A Collection of Records and Original Papers; with Other Instruments Referred to in the Former History.] Another Dispatch to the Ambassadours to the Same Purpose. A Duplicate.”, in The History of the Reformation of the Church of England. The First Part, […], London: […] T[homas] H[odgkin] for Richard Chiswell, […], →OCLC, page 61

4. obsoleteAn act of remaining or staying; a residence, a stay.

   VVe ſavv this tovvn only in tranſitu, but it merited a little demurr.

   1673, John Ray, “Of Rome”, in Observations Topographical, Moral, & Physiological; Made in a Journey through part of the Low-countries, Germany, Italy, and France: […], London: […] John Martyn, printer to the Royal Society, […], →OCLC, page 378

   Synonyms: abode

5. obsoleteA state of having doubts; a hesitation, a pause.

   The King told me, […] That I ſhould have the Character of Ambaſſador Extraordinary, and the ſame Allovvance I ſhou'd have had in Spain: Upon this Offer I made no Demurr, but immediately accepted it, and ſo my Ambaſſy vvas declar'd in May 1674.

   1683, William Temple, “Memoirs of what Pass’d in Christendom, from the War Begun 1672, to the Peace Concluded 1679. Chapter I.”, in The Works of Sir William Temple, […], volume I, London: […] J. Round, J[acob] Tonson, J. Clarke, B[enjamin] Motte, T. Wotton, S[amuel] Birt, and T[homas] Osborne, published 1731, →OCLC, page 379

6. obsoletelawSynonym of demurrer (“a motion by a party to a legal action for the immediate or summary judgment of the court on the question of whether, assuming the truth of the matter alleged by the opposite party, it is sufficient in law to sustain the action or defence, and hence whether the party bringing the motion is required to answer or proceed further”).

   [W]ith Rejoinders and Replies, / Long Bills, and Anſvvers, ſtuft vvith Lies, / Demurr, Imparlance, and Eſſoign, / The Parties ne'er could Iſſue join: / For Sixteen Years the Cauſe vvas ſpun, / And then ſtood vvhere it firſt begun.

   1726, [Jonathan Swift], Cadenus and Vanessa. A Poem, London: […] J. Roberts […], →OCLC, page 9

   Synonyms: demurrer